Looking for a decent Genshin Impact Hu Tao build? This five-star character may look like a young girl, but she's actually the director of Liyue Harbor's most respected funerary house, Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. When she isn't bossing around Zhongli, or trying to convince people to buy coffins at low, low prices, she moonlights as one of Genshin Impact's best damage-dealers.
Genshin Impact Thoma build: Pyro retainer
Genshin Impact Hu Tao build: Fiery funeral director
Genshin Impact Aloy build: Cryo hunter
Genshin Impact Kokomi build: Divine Priestess
Genshin Impact Childe build: Fatui Harbinger
Hu Tao's strength lies in her unique playstyle, consuming her own HP to infuse her weapon with Pyro, and gain a hefty attack boost, before using her massive Pyro AoE burst to restore her health back to full. The Pyro infusion means she has the potential to cause devasting elemental reactions, and it's easy to increase her health, and therefore her attack boost.
If you're still exploring Tsurumi Island, this guide can help you get the Peculiar Pinion gadget. We've also got roundups for everything we know about upcoming characters Gorou and Arataki Itto. That said, let's take a look at the best Genshin Impact Hu Tao build, along with info around abilities and constellations, and when her banner rerun is set to drop.
Builds
The best Genshin Impact Hu Tao build
Hu Tao is a Pyro damage-dealer through-and-through, with a massive Pyro AoE burst, and an elemental skill that infuses her attacks with Pyro. In this sense, she's a pretty straightforward character to build:
Pyro DPS
- Weapon: Staff of Homa
Hu Tao's signature five-star polearm is, unsurprisingly, one of the best weapons for her. It increases her HP by 20%, and provides an attack boost based on 0.8% of her max HP. When her HP drops below 50%, that attack boost is increased by 1%.
This synergises wonderfully with Hu Tao's HP-based attack-boost in her Paramita Papilio state, and with the extra damage and HP-regen she receives when using Spirit Soother below 50% HP.
A four-star alternative could be Deathmatch. This weapon boosts crit rate, and increases attack and defence by 16% if there are at least two opponents nearby, and 24% if there's just one. Considering Hu Tao's burst relies on hitting lots of enemies for HP-regen, this weapon is a decent choice.
- Artifacts: (4) Crimson Witch of Flames
As Hu Tao's elemental skill infuses her weapon with Pyro, it really is a no-brainer to boost her Pyro damage. As ever, Crimson Witch of Flames is the go-to, boosting Pyro damage by 15% for two-pieces, and strengthening basically every Pyro elemental reaction for four.
Overloaded and Burning damage are increased by 40%, Vaporize and Melt by 15%, and using an elemental skill adds an additional 50% boost to the two-piece bonus for ten seconds.
How to unlock
How to get Hu Tao in Genshin Impact
Alongside the Farewell to Snezhnaya banner, Hu Tao's 'Moment of Bloom' is also getting a rerun in version 2.2. This banner releases on November 2, and features the new character, Thoma, as well as Cryo archer, Diona, and claymore-wielding ninja, Sayu. If you want to grab Hu Tao, that's the time. Her signature polearm, Staff of Homa, will also be available on the weapon banner.
Abilities
Hu Tao's abilities
Here are Hu Tao's abilities, passives, and Constellations:
| Normal | Performs up to six consecutive spear strikes. |
| Charged | Consumes a certain amount of stamina to lunge forward, dealing damage to opponents along the way. |
| Plunging | Plunges from mid-air to strike ground below, damaging opponents along the path and dealing AoE damage on impact. |
| Guide to Afterlife | Hu Tao consumes a portion of her HP to enter the Paramita Papilio state, getting increased attack based on her max HP, Pyro infusion, and resistance to interruption. Her charged attacks also apply the Blood Blossom effect. |
| Blood Blossom | Enemies affected by this take Pyro damage every four seconds. This counts as elemental skill damage and each enemy can only have one at a time. |
| Spirit Soother | Hu Tao deals Pyro damage in a large AoE, regenerating HP for every enemy she hits. This can be activated up to five times, and gains increased damage and HP regeneration if her HP is below 50% when she uses it. |
| The More the Merrier | When Hu Tao cooks a dish perfectly, she has an 18 percent chance to receive an additional 'Suspicious' dish of the same type |
| Flutter By | When Paramita Papilio state is activated by Guide to Afterlife is over, all allies in the party (excluding Hu Tao herself) will have their critical rate increased by 12 percent for eight seconds. |
| Sanguine Rouge | When Hu Tao's HP is equal to or less than 50 percent, her Pyro damage bonus is increased by 33 percent. |
| Crimson Bouquet | While in Paramita Papilio state activated by Guide to Afterlife, Hu Tao's Charge Attacks do not consume stamina. |
| Ominous Rainfall | Increases the Blood Blossom damage by the amount equal to ten percent of Hu Tao's max HP at the time the effect is applied. Additionally, Spirit Soother will also apply the Blood Blossom effect. |
| Lingering Carmine | Increases the level of Guide to Afterlife by three. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| Garden of Eternal Rest | Upon defeating an enemy affected by Blood Blossom that Hu Tao applied herself, all nearby allies in the party (excluding Hu Tao herself) will have their critical rate increased by 12 percent for 15 seconds. |
| Floral Incense | Increases the level of Spirit Soother by three. Maximum upgrade level is 15. |
| Butterfly's Embrace | Triggers when Hu Tao's HP drops below 25%, or when she suffers a lethal strike—Hu Tao will not fall as a result of the damage sustained. Additionally, for the next ten seconds, all of her elemental and physical resistance is increased by 200 percent, her critical rate is increased by 100 percent, and her resistance to interruption is greatly increased. This effect triggers automatically when Hu Tao has one HP left. Can only occur once every 60 seconds. |
Ascension materials
Hu Tao Ascension materials
Character
To ascend Hu Tao you'll need the usual Agnidus Agate you can get from Pyro Regisvines and the Pyro Hypostasis, but you're also going to need Juvenile Jade from the Primo Geovishap boss. There are also two world materials you're going to need:
- Whopperflower nectar/Shimmering Nectar/Energy Nectar
- Silk Flowers
You can get Whopperflower Nectar and its variants by defeating Whopperflowers of different world levels — if you can't find any, use the monster tab in the adventurer's handbook to track one, or do the Blossoms of Wealth and Wisdom in Mondstadt. Silk Flowers, on the other hand, are found outside the Wangshu Inn, and in the courtyards at the top of Liyue Harbor.
Talent
Here are Hu Tao's talent ascension materials:
- Whopperflower nectar/Shimmering Nectar/Energy Nectar
- Teachings of Diligence/Guide to Diligence/Philosophies of Diligence
- Shard of a Foul Legacy
- Crown of Insight
As mentioned, Whopperflower Nectar and its upgraded counterparts come from Whopperfloppers of varying world levels. Teachings of Diligence-series items can be farmed at the Taishin Mansion Domain on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
The Shard of a Foul Legacy is a potential reward for defeating Childe in the Trounce Domain weekly boss fight on level 70+. Finally, the Crown of Insight is earned through seasonal events like Labyrinth Warriors, and by upgrading the Frostbearing Tree in Dragonspine, or the Sacred Sakura in Inazuma.
